Middlebury Institute graduates discuss where they are working today, how the Institute helped them get there, and what advice they’d give to current and future MIIS students.
My name is Maiko McKelvey and I graduated with an MA in Conference Interpretation from the Middlebury Institute in 2009. My language of study was Japanese. Over the summer between years of the program, I served an internship as an on-site interpreter for joint U.S.-Japan activities at Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center in Oxnard, California. After graduation I was an in-house interpreter for Honda Motor Co. in Tochigi, Japan for three years, and now I am a freelance interpreter and translator based in Tokyo, Japan.
After working as an in-house interpreter at Honda, I decided I wanted to work as a freelance interpreter and translator. I still occasionally do work for Honda, but I expanded my client base by registering with other interpreting agencies and receiving referrals from my teachers at the Institute and fellow Institute graduates. In addition to the automotive industry, I also currently interpret for fields including IT, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and humanitarian affairs.
My advice for current students is specific to students in the translation and interpretation programs. For an interpreter and/or translator, good feedback on your performance is hard to come by once you start working. While you are still in school, make sure that you prepare as well as you can for class so that the feedback you receive is meaningful and allows you to further improve your skills.
Translation and Localization Management graduate Jihong Zhou shares how a focused and strategic approach to her job search helped her launch a career in localization working on the Xbox product.
| by Sarah Blackwell
Over 20 employers from across the language services industry came to Monterey to connect with students, many sending Institute alumni who shared tips with the next generation.
Translation student Frances Chang explains how courses and advising sessions with the Center for Advising and Career Services helped her get out of her comfort zone when launching a career in the field.
